On our road trip from Raleigh, NC to Florida Keys a stop at Amelia Island, Florida was planned for one specific reason – Amelia Island boat tour. There are hundreds of boat tours you can take in Florida, if not thousands, so why Amelia Island boat tour is special?
I love to visit attractions off the beaten path, places of unspoiled beauty. Cumberland Island, just North of Amelia Island is such a place. It is a part of National Seashore protected by National Park Service and the only way to see it is from a boat.
Cumberland Island was the focus of my attention but I never thought that Amelia Island boat tour with Amelia River Cruises will offer so much more than a nature cruise.
We embarked on a Cumberland Island Tour which started with an interesting educational introduction about local shrimping industry.
Our next destination was Fort Clinch which presents a grand view from the water. En route to Fort Clinch we were immersed into the fascinating history of the region dating back to mid 1700s.This site was first fortified in 1736 by the Spanish and then for 100 years various nations took hold of this territory until 1847 when the United States built Fort Clinch as part of coastal defenses. There are corner bastions and embrasures in the outer walls and several structures in the interior courtyards, including a two-story barracks. was used as a safe haven for Confederate blockade runners during the first year of the Civil War.
After the Fort we proceeded to cruise along Cumberland Island, home to lots of wildlife but especially famous for wild horses. These animals are beautiful and we were lucky to see many of them on the beach during our Amelia Island boat tour: adults and youngsters, beautiful and funny (if you are interested in wild horses, also check out the wild horses in the Outer Banks, NC) In addition to wild horses we saw a raccoon, a dolphin and a bunch of manatees.
We loved hearing the guide’s stories about manatees and how we all need to be careful to protect them, especially when we are boating.
Though the majority of the island is now a National Parks reserve there was a time when a big portion of it was occupied by the American rich and famous. For a hundred years or so the island was a private winter retreat for the Carnegie family and John F. Kennedy Junior was married on Cumberland too. Now Cumberland Island is home to a couple of wealthy families’ vacation houses and only 1 commercial establishment – Greyfeild Inn, an all-inclusive eco resort with rooms costing upwards $600 per night.
At the end of our Amelia Island boat tour we got a glimpse of Kings Bay – a naval submarine base and learnt a little bit about its operations (only unclassified information, of course ;-)). Our boat driver and guide told us that some tours get lucky when they encounter a submarine going in or out of the base. We did not have such luck but instead we saw one of Sea Shepard’s vessels.
Our Amelia Island boat tour lasted a little more than 2.5 hours. We were not getting ashore anywhere, just cruising along the waterways. The boat was sturdy and comfortable with a big shaded area and a working bathroom. I would definitely recommend this specific boat tour organized by Amelia River Cruises if your are visiting Amelia Island. Our kids loved it, especially because at the end of the tour, those ones who behaved well were allowed to drive the boat!
If you suffer from motion sickness and is concerned about the boat tour form that perspective here are my personal recommendations of the remedies that saved my family many a time:
WHERE TO STAY IN AMELIA ISLAND
We stayed at Hampton Inn Amelia Island at Fernendina Beach. It is literally 2 minutes walk from the beach, it offers FREE scrumptious breakfast in the morning and FREE cookies in the evening! The nightly rates are very affordable here but you can save even more with my pro tips:
- use promo code LWP
on Hilton’s website to save 50% on a Sunday night stay when you book 3 nights weekend getaway - you can also save up to 15% if you book in advance on Hilton website.
MORE TIPS FOR VISITING AMELIA ISLAND
If you have time, take a drive to St. Augustine, Florida. I regret we did not have time to stop by it on our trip this time around. Check out this article about things to do in St. Augustine with kids.
Here are other articles you may find useful for planning Florida vacation:
8 Super Fun Tampa Attractions for Families
Things to do in Tampa with Kids
Things to do in Sarasota with Kids
If you found this information about Amelia Island boat tour useful, please do me a little favor and share this information with others, for there’s a good chance that it will help them with their travel plans. 🙂 Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram where I post many more cool photos and videos about our trips than I could include in a blog post, and organize some nice giveaways!
